Markhor: A Gentleman's Tale

The door to the room opened and he entered. His footsteps sounded faint as his Pebble Oxfords made contact with the marbled floor. Elegantly slipping off his coat, he pulled up a chair and sat down. Fixing the leather strap of his designer watch, his gaze met that of the audience. 

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am M, the Markhor Gentleman.”

“A lot of you may have heard about me and wondered what I look like, so here I am, narrating the story of the brand that brought me into existence. Shall I begin?” he said, elegantly placing both hands on the table and sitting up straight, looking directly into the eyes of his viewers. 

“This is a journey about a team of dreamers who started a brand from a small village in Okara, Pakistan and nurtured it to an international level, taking the entire fashion world by surprise. When the founders learned that craftsmen from their country were not getting the desired recognition for their craft, they decided to provide such talented people with a platform that would present their skills to the modern fashion world. But that is easier said than done, isn’t it?” M paused, scanning the audience. He could see many people nodding in agreement. 

“Hard, yes but not impossible. That is all the team needed to know and believe in as they put their heart and soul into the creation of Markhor.”

“It took every ounce of their energy and will to bring the brand into existence but they never gave up and the fruit of their efforts is right in front of you,” M said, smiling slightly at the confusion of the audience. His long fingers reached up to loosen and untie his tie. Folding it and placing it on the table, M unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt and crossed one leg over the other. 

“No, I don’t mean that they succeeded in creating me,” M laughed, “but Markhor as a whole. With it, I came into existence. The company began with the goal to provide high quality, leather footwear for men all around the world. Their first creation was revamping the Peshawari Chappal, a traditional footwear that originated from Peshawar, Pakistan, and they called it the Markhor Chappal. You really should see for yourself how amazing and well-designed the Chappal is! By giving the whole shoe equal attention, inside and out, the elegance of the footwear reached a completely new level. 

“After that, Markhor began experimenting with different styles of footwear, including Chappals, Oxfords, Derbies and Loafers. They even took a brave step of starting their first ever women's footwear collection, which I'm proud to say has been a huge success. As you can see, I’m wearing one of their creations right now. Beautiful, aren’t they?” he asked, glancing down at his feet. Getting up and walking to the center of the room, he allowed his viewers to admire the Pebble Oxfords that fitted his feet like a glove and added a level of class to his overall look. Placing both hands in his dress pants pockets, he began walking around the room.

“It’s quite amazing and admirable how Markhor works. Being in a country that has been in a negative light for many years and yet, to still come up with a brand that is now competing in the fashion world and gaining more and more recognition is highly remarkable.”

“The entire team, designers and craftsmen alike, keep working together day by day, harder than ever, to continue to satisfy their local and international community, to make products that live up to their customers’ expectations and most importantly, to make Pakistan proud.”

M walked over to a small bookcase in the back of the room and took out a book, scanning its cover. He then looked at his wristwatch and up at the audience. 

“It is now time for me to take my leave. It has been a pleasure to meet you all and tell you about Markhor. I hope that not only has your knowledge of the brand increased but that its journey has inspired you to do the best in your lives. If they can do it, so can you.” 

With that, the Markhor Gentleman walked up to the table where he first sat and placed the book on the table. Taking his coat off from the back of the chair, he slipped it on before straightening the sleeves. Picking up his tie and book, he looked up at the viewers, smiled politely and nodded his head before turning and exiting the room.